Chicago VI

Chicago VI
Studio album by Chicago
Released	June 25, 1973
Recorded	February 1973, Caribou Ranch, Nederland, CO
Genre	Rock
Length	38:21
Label	Columbia
Producer	James William Guercio
Chicago chronology
Chicago V (1972) Chicago VI (1973) Chicago VII (1974)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(C)[2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[3]

Chicago VI is the sixth album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1973. Following the streamlined character of Chicago V, this successor would see the group follow more of a pop music approach, relying less on their trademark horns and exploring varied music forms.

After recording all of Chicago's first five albums in New York City, producer James William Guercio had his own Caribou Studios built in Nederland, Colorado during 1972, finished in time for the band to record their sixth album the following February. It would remain their recording base for the next four years.

While Robert Lamm maintains his songwriting prowess on Chicago VI (authoring half of the album's tracks, including his response to some of Chicago's negative reviewers in "Critics' Choice"), it is James Pankow who is responsible for the album's two hits, "Just You 'N' Me" (#4) and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (#10), the last of which was co-composed with Peter Cetera, who, himself landed another track on Chicago VI, the country-influenced "In Terms Of Two".

Released in June 1973, Chicago VI was another commercial success, spending five weeks at #1 in the US, while failing to chart in the UK at all, beginning a dry spell there that would last until 1976's Chicago X.

On August 23, 1989, just before 7:00pm local time, "Just You 'N' Me" was the last song played on WLS Chicago before switching to an all-talk format.

The original US CD release(Columbia CK #32400) was mastered for CD by Joe Gastwirt. In 2002, Chicago VI was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records, with two bonus tracks: a Terry Kath demo called "Beyond All Our Sorrows", and a recording of Al Green's "Tired Of Being Alone", taken from the 1973 TV special, "Chicago In The Rockies".

Track listing

1. "Critics' Choice" (Robert Lamm) – 2:49
2. "Just You 'n' Me" (James Pankow) – 3:42
3. "Darlin' Dear" (Lamm) – 2:56
4. "Jenny" (Terry Kath) – 3:31
5. "What's This World Comin' To" (Pankow) – 4:58
6. "Something in This City Changes People" (Lamm) – 3:42
7. "Hollywood" (Lamm) – 3:52
8. "In Terms of Two" (Peter Cetera) – 3:29
9. "Rediscovery" (Lamm) – 4:47
10. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:15

Personnel

The Band

• Peter Cetera – bass, vocals
• Terry Kath – guitar, vocals
• Robert Lamm – keyboards, vocals
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet, background vocals, percussion
• James Pankow – trombone, percussion
• Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, percussion
• Danny Seraphine – drums, antique bells, congas

Additional personnel

• Laudir de Oliveira – congas
• Joe Lala – congas
• J. G. O'Rafferty – pedal steel

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1973	Billboard Pop Albums	1

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"Feelin' Stronger Every Day"	Billboard Pop Singles	10
1973	"Just You 'N' Me"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	7
1973	"Just You 'N' Me"	Billboard Pop Singles	4

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	July 18, 1973
RIAA – USA	Platinum	November 21, 1986
RIAA – USA	Double Platinum	November 21, 1986

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r33024
2. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=chicago
3. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/chicago/albums/album/112111/review/6067514/chicago_vi

Preceded by Living in the Material World by George Harrison

Billboard 200 number-one album July 28 - August 17, 1973 August 25 - September 7, 1973

Succeeded by A Passion Play by Jethro Tull